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Fifty or so black shirted protestors showed up the quarterly Clemency Board meeting, angry over what some call the most restrictive clemency system in the nation.

“I deny a full pardon” is said more often than not by the Governor.

Over four years, those getting their rights back has fallen from 30 thousand to under a thousand last year, so hearing the words

”move to grant restoration of civil rights” is rare.

Applicants must wait at least 5 years before even applying.

A single speeding ticket can disqualify someone.

“I’d never been in trouble.”

Lashanna Tyson says after a decade of clean living she is still being hampered by not having her right to vote.

“Even though I’m out here, I still feel incarcerated. I still feel incarcerated, and that’s a hurtful feeling says Tyson.”

Now, a coalition known as Floridians for a Fair Democracy is circulating petitions for a 2016 ballot initiative. It would automatically restore voting rights upon the completion of a sentence. Civil Rights lawyer Mark Schlakman has been advising the group.

“And this is about reentering society after the sentence is complete, and regaining the responsibilities of citizenship.”

One average, one in three people released by the Department of Corrections end up committing a new crime. But when civil rights are restored, the number drops to one in nine.

The recidivism figure comes from the Clemency Boards own investigative arm. The study has done nothing to sway policy makers from their get tough stance.

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